Conversion back to fee and fare collection following a pandemic pause produced a dramatic drop in public transit ridership in Kingman this summer. Superintendent Sheri Furr addressed Kingman Area Regional Transit (KART) Advisory Commission members during their Oct. 4 meeting.
“Last June we reached record ridership of 11,631 passengers for the month. This is 68% higher than June 2020 and 18% higher than June 2019, which is pre-pandemic,” Furr said. “When fare collection resumed July 1 ridership dropped significantly as we expected. In fact, there were just 6,449 riders in July.”
Furr told Commissioners that two new hires will end an extended manpower shortage and brings KART back to full staffing. She said two new 90% grant-funded buses will be rotated into the KART fleet, replacing a couple of other 12-year-old vehicles.
Furr said that she is reviewing a consultant’s draft report of a short- and long-term planning study. She said she’s excited to share it with the Commission once revisions are made and the document is completed.
Dave Hawkins
